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AP News Digest 7 a.m.

Via AP news wire
Monday 26 October 2020 10:51 GMT
Japan Suga Policy Speech
Japan Suga Policy Speech

Here are the AP’s latest coverage plans, top stories and promotable content. All times EDT. For up-to-the minute information on AP’s coverage, visit Coverage Plan at https://newsroom ap.org.

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TOP STORIES

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ELECTION 2020 -- President Donald Trump plans to intensify an already breakneck travel schedule in the final full week of the presidential campaign, overlooking a surge of coronavirus cases in the U.S. and a fresh outbreak in his own White House. Democrat Joe Biden too plans to pick up his travel schedule, aiming to hit the half-dozen battleground states the campaign sees as key to his chances. By Zeke Miller and Alexandra Jaffe. SENT: 1,160 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-EARLY VOTE — With nine days before Election Day, more people already have cast ballots in this year’s presidential election than voted early or absentee in the 2016 race as the start of in-person early voting in big states has caused a surge in turnout in recent days. By Nicholas Riccardi and Angeliki Kastanis. SENT: 600 words, photos.

ELECTION 2020-HOUSE-PELOSI -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi once predicted she’d have the House majority won by November — of 2019. Now days before the Nov. 3 election, she seems to have done it. With control of the chamber hardly contested, Pelosi is expanding her reach to fortify Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and win extra House seats in case Congress is called on to resolve any Electoral College dispute with President Donald Trump. By Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-SURGE OF SUFFERING — About half of U.S. states have seen their highest daily coronavirus infection numbers so far at some point in October, and the country as a whole came very close to back-to-back record daily infection rates on Friday and Saturday. Some Northeastern states hit hard in the spring are seeing numbers bounce back and COVID-19 is surging in Idaho and Utah. By Holly Ramer and Adrian Sainz. SENT: 1,090 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-IRAN-MIXED SIGNALS — Iran’s health minister recently delivered a rare speech criticizing his own government’s refusal to enforce basic health measures, as coronavirus infections and deaths surge in the Islamic Republic. Yet just one day later, the minister sent a starkly different message, seeking to reassure the public that things were under control. The rhetorical about-face is typical of Iranian leaders’ inconsistent response to the pandemic that many see as helping to fuel the virus’s spread. By Isabel Debre. SENT: 1,060 words, photos.

SUPREME COURT-BARRETT -- A deeply torn Senate is set to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Republicans overpowering unified Democratic opposition as well as institutional traditions to vote on President Donald Trump’s nominee barely a week before the presidential election. By Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro. SENT: 850 words, photos. Confirmation vote expected midevening Monday.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

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ELECTION 2020-MASSACHUSETTS-BALLOT BOX — Massachusetts election officials say a fire was set in a Boston ballot drop box holding more than 120 ballots in what appears to have been a “deliberate attack.” SENT: 390 words.

TRUMP CONVOY PROTESTS — Skirmishes broke out between supporters and opponents of President Donald Trump as a Jews For Trump convoy of cars draped with American flags and Trump 2020 banners rolled through Manhattan and Brooklyn. SENT: 300 words, video.

OBIT-ROBERT MURRAY — Coal magnate Robert Murray has died at his home in Ohio less than a week after announcing his retirement as board chairman of a major U.S. coal operator. SENT: 250 words.

PLANE CRASH-ALABAMA — Authorities have identified the two service members who were killed when their plane crashed in a residential Alabama neighborhood. SENT: 240 words.

TRUMP HALLOWEEN — Halloween goes on at the White House with a few twists. SENT: 240 words, photos.

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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

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VIRUS OUTBREAK-ASIA — Australia’s former coronavirus hot spot Melbourne will largely emerge from a lockdown after the nation’s second-largest city on Monday recorded its first day without a new coronavirus case in more than four months. SENT: 440 words, photos.

VIRUS OUTBREAK — The coronavirus pandemic is surging across Europe with renewed force and, with winter coming, its restaurant industry is struggling. Spring lockdowns already devastated many eateries, and now a new set of restrictions is dealing a second blow. More than just jobs and revenue are at stake — restaurants lie at the heart of European life. By Raf Casert. SENT: 1,150 words, photos.

Find more coverage on the Virus Outbreak on the featured topic page in AP Newsroom.

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WASHINGTON/POLITICS

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ELECTION 2020-WATCH -- Welcome to the final full week of the election. Anxiety on both sides is spiking with so much uncertainty heading into an Election Day like no other. By National Political Writer Steve Peoples. SENT: 950 words, photos.

FACT CHECK-WEEK -- President Donald Trump says Mexico is paying for the wall (it isn’t), health care choice for veterans came from him (it didn’t) and his tax cut stands as the biggest in American history (nowhere close). These are among his touchstones -- and he’s got fresher false material, too. By Calvin Woodward and Hope Yen. SENT: 1,840 words, photos.

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INTERNATIONAL

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ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN — Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday accused each other of violating the new cease-fire announced the day before in a bid to halt the fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh that has killed hundreds, and possibly thousands, in just four weeks. SENT: 430 words, photo.

ASIA-TYPHOON — A fast-moving typhoon blew away from the Philippines on Monday after leaving at least 13 people missing, forcing thousands of villagers to flee to safety and flooding rural villages, disaster-response officials said. SENT: 390 words, photos.

CHINA-US-TAIWAN- China’s government says it will impose sanctions on U.S. companies including Boeing and Lockheed Martin for supplying weapons to rival Taiwan. A foreign ministry spokesman said Raytheon also will be affected. The spokesman gave no details of what penalties might be imposed or when. SENT: 440 words, photos,

JAPAN-SUGA-POLICY SPEECH — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has declared Japan will achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 in his first policy speech after taking over from Shinzo Abe. The policy speech Monday at the outset of the parliamentary session set an ambitious agenda reflecting Suga’s pragmatic approach to getting things done. SENT: 870 words, photos.

THAILAND PROTESTS — Thailand’s Parliament has begun a special session that was called to address tensions as pro-democracy protests draw students and other demonstrators into the streets almost daily demanding the prime minister’s resignation. SENT: 710 words, photos.

AUSTRALIA-QATAR-EXAMINATIONS — Australia has condemned Qatar authorities’ treatment of women passengers on a flight to Sydney who were subjected to internal examinations after a newborn baby was found abandoned at a Doha airport. The women were examined on Oct. 2 after Qatar Airways Flight 908 to Sydney was delayed. SENT: 510 words, photos.

CHILE-CONSTITUTION — Chileans have voted overwhelmingly in favor of drafting a new constitution to replace guiding principles imposed four decades ago under the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. SENT: 860 words, photos.

VENEZUELA — Venezuela’s Leopoldo Lopez has arrived in Spain and been reunited with his family. López arrived Sunday in Madrid following what aides described as a whirlwind escape from the Spanish ambassador’s residence in Caracas. SENT: 830 words, photo.

TROPICAL WEATHER — Newly formed Tropical Storm Zeta is barely advancing in the western Caribbean, but forecasters say it poses the risk of a rain-heavy hurricane for Mexico’s resort-dotted Yucatan Peninsula and the U.S. Gulf Coast. SENT: 790 words.

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NATIONAL

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HUNGRY HOUSTON — In car lines that can stretch half a mile, (0.8 kilometers), workers who lost jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic and other needy people receive staggering amounts of food distributed by the Houston Food Bank. On some days, the hundreds of sites supplied by the country’s largest food bank collectively get 1 million pounds. SENT: 920 words, photos, video.

CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES — Hundreds of thousands of Californians lost power as utilities sought to prevent the chance of their equipment sparking wildfires and the fire-weary state braced for a new bout of dry, windy weather. SENT: 690 words, photos.

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ENTERTAINMENT

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BRITAIN-THEATER AWARDS — Andrew Scott and Ian McKellen are among acting winners as Britain’s Laurence Olivier Awards celebrates the best of the London stage. It was a bittersweet event Sunday night, since most U.K. theaters remain closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. SENT: 440 words, photos.

PEOPLE-HARRY STYLES — While most music stars are rescheduling tour dates to 2021, Harry Styles is looking farther ahead and making plans to headline his own arena — one planned to be completed in Manchester, England, in 2023 SENT: 570 words, photos.

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HEALTH & SCIENCE

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NEWBORNS-OPIOIDS — The American Academy of Pediatrics says pregnant women with opioid addiction should have access to medication in new guidelines released Monday aimed at improving care for women and newborns affected by drug use. SENT: 410 words, photos.

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SPORTS

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BBO--WORLD SERIES — Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw beat the Tampa Bay Rays for the second time in six days, escaping a fourth-inning jam with a quick reaction throw to cut down a runner trying for a rare steal of home plate, and Los Angeles held on for a 4-2 win and a 3-2 World Series lead. By Baseball Writer Ronald Blum. 1,300 words, photos.

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HOW TO REACH US

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At the Nerve Center, Dave Clark can be reached at 800-845-8450 (ext. 1600). For photos, ext. 1900. For graphics and interactives, ext. 7636. Expanded AP content can be obtained from http://newsroom.ap.org. For access to AP Newsroom and other technical issues, contact apcustomersupport(at)ap.org or call 877-836-9477.

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